Thumbs stroking her skin…she wanted to melt against him and enjoy the sensation. Focusing on the conversation was difficult. “I was playing a part.”
“The fans loved it.” She couldn’t deny they’d seemed to enjoy her presence. “You want to kiss me without an audience?”
Yes! “I won’t.”
“Wasn’t what I asked.”
“That’s all you’re getting.”
A slight smirk. She bet he read more into her answer than she wanted, but nothing she could do to help that.
“I have a present for you.” He wrapped an arm around her back and leaned forward, compressing their chests together.
Upon contact, Sam bit her bottom lip. He feels so good against me. How much better would he feel against her naked skin?
She thought he removed something from beneath the seat, but from her vantage point she couldn’t tell. After he sat back, he maintained his loose hold on her waist and presented her with a glittery purple and pink bag.
For a heartbeat she met his gaze trying to determine the reason for the gift. Positioning the bag between them, she said, “It’s not my birthday.”
“You’ll understand when you open it.”
Making an effort to ignore the glide of his palm along her spine, she jerked the tissue paper out and tossed it over her shoulder. Nestled in a bed of more tissue paper was a light-pink dildo.
Oh. My. God. Heath bought me a vibrator!
Fervor slammed into her. Embarrassment and excitement jumbled into one.
“I never thought to see the day when you blushed.” He chuckled, a deep rumble that trembled between her thighs. Sam bit the inside of her cheek to halt the moan that speckled the back of her lips. “Aren’t you going to remove it from the bag?”
“Have you lost your mind?” A rushed glance toward the window confirmed neither the chauffer nor Tex could see or hear them. “I didn’t actually need this to get the job done.” He closed his eyes and groaned. “I was just egging you on at the sex store.”
“Why?”
“To which part?”
“Why were you egging me on?”
“Well….” She licked her lips and would’ve rolled up the package to hide the item within, but he stopped her by shoving his hand into the bag. “You were acting like a caveman over Aaron Blue, and I needed to remind you I was not your property.”
The vibrator emerged from the bag clutched between his fingers. Something about him holding an item he purchased for her pleasure came across as insanely sensual. But more than that, personal and erotic on a level that should’ve made her uncomfortable, yet strangely warmed her heart.
His thumb depressed a button on the side and a slight buzzing noise saturated the air. A slight tilt of his wrist and the head of the toy butted against her lips, pulsating on them. “That’ll feel good between your legs.”
Not a virgin or a prude, she couldn’t help it, but her eyes rounded. This side of Heath directed at her was so… novel. Making heads or tails out of how she felt about his mood was next to impossible. Had he been any other man, she wouldn’t be holding herself back.
Why am I with Heath? If things didn’t work out, it’d be awkward sitting at the holiday table with him. No more uncomfortable than it would already be if they called halts to everything right this moment.
“How would you know it’d feel good?” Her words were muffled against the device whirring with a soft trill.
The intensity of his gaze zeroed in on her lips as he rolled the synthetic cock along them. “You really want the answer to that?”
The toy’s vibrations ramped up when he pressed the button again. The fast-paced whirring fit her temper. Pulse pounding in her ears, she concentrated on dragging air into her lungs. Jealousy slammed into her with all the weight of a comet. “You’ve used them on others.”
Not a question because she knew without asking.
A wicked grin suited as an admission. “Want me to demonstrate?”
Yes. “No. I have too much pride to be relegated to another conquest.”
The gadget stilled in the center of her mouth. His silver gaze flicked upward to gauge hers. “Have you not heard a fucking thing I’ve said?”
“I’ve heard everything.” Using two fingers she pushed the dildo down and away from her. The force of Heath’s stare made her uncomfortable as he watched her. “I’ll recap it for you. You want me. You gave me a pleasure toy and offered to show me how to use it like you have a thousand other women.”
“You’re forgetting the part where I want just you, Sam. Just you in my life. The sex comes later to heighten our intimacy.”
“Mmhm.” Pretty words, but she couldn’t trust the charmer she knew him to be.
A quick twist and Heath relocated her to her back on the bench beside him. He leaned over her. One hand braced next to her head and the other two-fingered the back of her knee to anchor her leg over his hip. She had no idea where the dildo had gone off to, but she could still hear its vibrations. He rotated his hips, pressing his pelvis against her core. A run-away whimper escaped her lips, and he stared her straight in the eyes. “If all I wanted was sex from you, I could get that effortlessly.”
“I’m not that easy.” The wetness at her core suggested otherwise. Until Heath, she could say that with conviction.
Without preliminaries, he kissed her, mouth open and tongue dominating. Zero resistance filtered from her. She caught his shoulders and breathed him in, fighting to claim the advantage with the kiss and failing when he maintained dominance.
His caress shifted off her knee, gliding up the back of her leg. Extremities splayed wide, he cupped her bottom. Going on instinct, Sam arched into him and angled her pelvis upward.
Fingertips smoothed over her panty-clad core. Sam gasped in shock, and her eyes jerked wide-open. He watched her as he kissed her, not allowing her a moment for air.
Small nips and kisses to her lips as he pushed a digit against her and the material of her panties clung to her. “You’re wet.”
No kidding!
That he could feel how aroused she was through the fabric should be mortifying, but wasn’t. Suddenly he left her. Disappointment shunted through her body. His departure was for the best. Life would get even more complicated if he continued.
Just as she pushed up on her elbows he buried his face between her legs.
“Heath!” Her arms went out from underneath her, and she slumped against the leather as his tongue dragged over the silk separating his mouth from her most sensitive flesh.
Drag after drag, each one ending at the heart of her desire. Through the fabric, he clamped his mouth over her clit and executed a suckle-twirling-lick combo.
Sweet baby Jesus, he’s a master at that! He could give lessons on the skill. Should give lessons as a humanitarian act.
Sam sprinted to the edge of climaxing. He thumbed her opening, pressed the silk into her wet heat. Her legs vibrated as hot fire consumed her core and spread through her limbs. In a matter of seconds she’d be orbiting the universe.
He stopped. No!
She would’ve hauled him back to her if he hadn’t extricated her grip from his hair.
Heath kissed her wrist as he stretched over her, feeding her his weight one pound at a time. “See, I could’ve made you come and been inside you before you finished.”
“You are Satan incarnate.” This had been an exercise in how easy she was and how he successfully managed his longings. The bastard. She’d been close thanks to him, and he just quit. “Evil.”
He nipped the thin flesh on her wrist before scratching his nails gently along her arm and cupping her nape. “I didn’t want to abandon my position either. Knowing you were about to combust beneath me. Goddamn, brat, I wanted to push you all the way. You can feel what you do to me.” He rotated his pelvis against her achy core. His hard length pressed against the right spot, and she slapped her hold over his denim-covered ass, pulling him tight to her body. “You react to me the way no other
woman ever has. Real. No falseness in your response. I like you at my mercy, soft and hot, liquid flesh to mold to my desire. Beneath me, legs trembling and on the verge of climaxing... I want you like that. All the time.” A flick of his fingers against her clitoris and she whimpered, a harsh breath requesting mercy. “But I don’t want you like that either.”
“I’m confused.”
“I don’t want to seduce you into my bed. I want you there because that’s what you desire as much as I do.” His touch moved away from her pussy. For a brief moment he leaned over and then sat back with the vibrator in his grip. “I put the long life batteries in it for you.”
“I wish I was a lesbian.” His eyes narrowed just a fraction, and she explained, “Life would be simpler.”
Heath chuckled. “That’s where you’re wrong. Women are much more complicated than men. I just want a shot at winning your heart, Sam. A woman would want so much more than I do, flowers, jewelry, lyrics, sex toys.” He tapped the vibrator and winked. “Demanding creatures.”
“I’ve not asked for any of that.” She pushed up on her elbows. “What makes you think I want or require any of it?”
Dead serious silver eyes captured hers. “What do you want, brat?”
Sprawled on the bench and legs still spread open while Heath sat with her feet in his lap, Sam pushed into a sitting position. Aware of his concentration, she wiggled as she eased her skirt downward to cover herself. She crossed her ankles and hitched her legs to the side in what she hoped created a proper posture.
“I want this charade to be over.” God knew she’d never liked the idea of it, and she’d been upfront with everyone about her feelings.
“I offered you an alternative.”
She fisted her hair and pulled it back to tie into a knot. “Your offer terrifies me.”
“You think I’m not scared?”
Sam peered at him. “You seem pretty put together, Heath.”
She caught a flash of doubt in his eyes before he shadowed them from her view. He twined his fingers with hers and squeezed just a bit. “All scenarios frighten me. But when I think about seeing you with another man, happy, and it not being me….” He shook his head and let his shield drop so she could suffer his anxiety with him. “That eats at me. I ask myself if I can live with that? Will I regret not trying everything to have you for myself? Wondering are you better off without me? I want to do what’s right by you, Sam.”
“Any woman would be fortunate to have you in her life.”
“But am I good enough for you? Even I can’t answer that.” He drew her hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “The what ifs nag me like a doomsday prepper’s obsession with the apocalypse. I can’t let a little fear stop me from loving you.”
“Don’t say the L word.”
“Are you going to give me the chance to earn the right to say it?”
How’d she respond to that when she had no idea what to say? Should she give him a chance? Could she take that chance? No idea what she planned to say, she opened her mouth to respond but his cell interrupted.
“It’s Tab’s ringtone. She can wait,” he said when she remained silent.
“Tab never waits.”
Grumbling beneath his breath, he dug the phone out of his jeans pocket and hit the answer button. “You’re on speaker.”
“Perfect. That means Sam’s with you. Jase is freaking out because he can’t locate her. Where are you?”
“In the limo headed to a hotel.”
“Hang on.” A brief pause as she told someone she’d located Sam and to ‘chill the fuck out’. While the agent attempted to cool Jase’s worry, Sam texted him an apology.
“You’re not in Hot Wired’s limo,” Tab said.
“Took Tone Deaf’s ride. They can catch a taxi.”
She questioned if he did that on purpose because she’d been chatty with the other band’s drummer. For sheer spite at flirting with her, she wouldn’t put it past Heath to dole out a little revenge.
“We’ll meet you at the hotel.” Giggling on the other end announced the groupies that’d be joining them.
“We’re staying elsewhere.”
A long disturbed moment of silence on Tab’s end. Sam could picture the woman pursing her lips in thought like she often did. “Are you two thinking of making this charade real?” she asked in a hushed whisper as if she didn’t want Jase to hear her inquiry.
Cool as ice, Heath smiled at Sam and told Tab, “That’s none of your business.”
“Oh, Jesus Christ, you are.” Could the woman sound more elated? “The moment you arrive at your hotel, I want the name so I can send some reporters that way.”
“We can manage heat without your help.”
“Fang, you listen—”
“Goodbye, Tab.” Disconnecting the call with Tab mid-sentence, he exhaled a weary breath. “It’s bullshit like this”—he shook the cell at her—“that makes me feel like a selfish bastard because I can’t give you the one thing you crave the most.”
Like he knew her well enough to know what she desired most. “What do you think that is?”
“Paparazzi freedom.”
There were a great many things Heath wanted to know about Sam, but that would be the fun of getting to know her and not just the little girl he’d watched grow up. If she gave him a shot, the probability she’d dismiss his request lingered. The limo pulled up to the hotel, and after a moment Tex opened the door.
Heath left Sam standing with Tex a few feet away while he met with the concierge. He could ask for privileges, but trying to keep their residency low-key, he simply asked for the penthouse suite.
“That’s two king-sized beds. Would you like smoking or non-smoking, sir?”
“Non.”
“Your name?”
“Heath Fangor.” He removed his credit card from his wallet and glanced back at Sam and Tex. She actively engaged two teenagers. Not surprising. If she even suspected someone recognized them, she went out of her way to chat with a fan. She dubbed it ‘good public relations’.
“Fangor…hmm…where have I heard that name?”
Just once it’d be nice doing something normal without being identified. He winced, luck like that seldom dogged his side. Recognition came with stardom. Not that he’d truly understood fame and how rabid fans and reporters could be until they’d hit celebrity status.
He turned to give the smart-dressed woman his attention. “Hot Wired.”
“Hot—oh! My thirteen year old daughter’s a fan.”
Amused by her sudden identification, he teased, “We’re for moms too.”
“You’re the one all over my daughter’s wall.” The woman multitasked with ease chatting and manipulating her keyboard. Efficient and not impressed, if her obvious disregard to his mom comment was any clue. “Lexi—that’s my daughter—says you’re the hottest thing out there.” She looked him over. “You look different than in those posters.”
Why’d he get the impression she’d just insulted him?
“Better or worse?” He almost called her ‘ma’am’, but decided the word might offend her.
“Mr. Fangor, that question will lead me straight into trouble.”
Shot down politely by a mother who appealed to him in a downhome kind of way. A novelty he hadn’t experienced in a long while. Most folks kissed his ass. Unused to her refreshing honesty, Heath chuckled and retrieved a piece of stationary. This felt like old times before Hot Wired hit it big and he became not just a name, but a fantasy for women—and men—worldwide.
Sam was right. He was a conquest for groupies, fans, and reporters. They gravitated to him, hoping his stardom would rub off on them, but all of them wanted something from him. Whether it be a lurid roll in the sack, an ordinary signature or photo, or the reporters screwing him for a spot at headlines, they all used him.
Bothered by the sad waste he made of his life, he watched the woman strike the keyboard, each clack like a clang of wisdom. He couldn’t even preten
d he was different than those who used him. He benefited from the groupies, orgasms without complications and zero emotions.
He wanted more from life. Something with substance. He glanced over his shoulder. Sam continued to chat with the teenagers. Tex at her side dwarfing her petite structure. God, the woman tore him up. She didn’t want him saying the “L” word, and truthfully it scared him how much she meant to him. Terrified him how much he wanted to say he loved her.
“That your girlfriend?”
Mousy mom became the nosy-body, but it was obvious she knew next to nothing about them or the band, so Heath didn’t attempt to sidestep the question. He just wished he could say yes. “She’s… complicated.”
“Aren’t all women?”
“That is a question that’ll lead me straight into trouble.”
She smiled and slid the contract toward him. “Good save. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
From her lips to God’s ears.
Heath signed where indicated and rapped his knuckles on the hotel stationary. “For your daughter.”
Pondering the stationary a long moment, she fiddled with the edges before tucking the slip of paper into the pocket of her work uniform. “Normally, I wouldn’t accept this, but Lexi’ll be beyond excited. Thank you.”
On the tip of his tongue was to ask if it was against staff policy to accept something as simple as a signature, but he decided against it. “My pleasure. Have a good evening, Ms. James.”
Too bad Sam wasn’t next to him to praise him on his southern manners. She scolded him and Jase often about their demeanors. He couldn’t speak for Jase, but Heath had gotten used to telling people what to do and expecting it to be done. Money talked, not niceties. Asking politely rarely entered his mind any more. Employees were paid to do a job. Civility wasn’t part of the package deal, but Sam made it her job to ease the way with them.
“Ladies,” he said to the girls when he joined Sam and Tex.
“You’re hotter in person.”
“Taller too.”
Those were the first two sentences out of the teens’ mouths. “You’re short, that’s why I look tall.” He winked at the brunette to soften his comment. She giggled, so no insult was taken.
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